HOTEL HOEVE DE PLEI

In South Limburg, farms have a distinctly different shape than in the rest of the Netherlands. Farms have been expanded from an L- or U-shape to four-sided closed hooves. Often they were expanded with gatehouses and towers, giving them the appearance of a castle. The development of this type of farm is the result of an increase in scale in agriculture and the associated need for more stables and barns, without creating excessive distances between the various farm buildings. This development went from the long-gabled farm through the L-shape and then the U-shape to the final square farm (with the manure bale in the courtyard).
Half-timbering, a form of timber frame construction in which the skeleton remains visible on the outside, was a common construction method in South Limburg until the 19th century. First, a construction of large beams was made. In addition to horizontal and vertical beams, half-timbered construction in South Limburg often also has diagonally placed beams (braces), which formed a system of rectangles and/or triangles. Vertical bars were placed in these compartments and twigs were braided horizontally through them. The wickerwork was smeared with a mixture of straw and loam. The half-timbered skeleton is often black, the plaster is usually white in color.

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